Get Out Alive
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: While working an undercover case for Magical Law Enforcement, Tonks is injured. Saving her might be harder than Ginny expected. Ginny/Tonks
1. Chapter 1

**_LbN: This was the second "5 or Less" challenge. The challenge was a G/T fic in which Tonks is injured on the job, and they have to deal with homophobic Healers at St. Mungo's. Happy reading!_**

"Do you know when you'll be back?" Ginny asked, sitting up in bed.

"Beginning of next week, at the latest," Tonks said. "Love you. I'll write, if I can." Smiling reassuringly, she kissed Ginny. She tossed a toothbrush into her bag and zipped it up. Walking to the door, she said. "Boys, I know you're in there."

Two boys, both with bright green hair, climbed out of the cloak closet across from the door.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Tonks asked.

"Where you going, Mama?"

"You know I can't tell you that, Ridder," Tonks told him. "You and Zack need to get back to your room. Mummy put you to bed thirty minutes ago. I'll be back soon, I promise." She kissed both boys and nodded toward the stairs. Once they had gone up and closed the door to their room, she walked out of the house, locked it, and Disapparated.

* * *

"Hey there, sexy," a seedy looking man said. "What-cha here for?"

"I got an appointment with The Wand," Tonks said. "This is Max, and that's B."

"Blondie came with some muscle, boys," the doorman said, sharing a chuckle with his friends.

"Look, I know you're prob'ly looking forward to bustin' my balls for a while, so to speak, but I'm running on a schedule. And your boss is gonna be pissed as all Hell if he finds out you fucked up a good business deal."

"Wha's your name, girlie?"

"Ellie Dormer."

The doorman looked at his notepad and scowled at her, but let her and the other two pass.

Tonks smirked at him and made her way through the parlor of the rundown hostel. She was really glad the scumbags had picked a Wizard's hostel to operate out of, rather than a Muggle one. It made things that much easier. She climbed the stairs, nodding at Max and B to stand guard at the bottom. The top floor was deserted. She knocked on the door to her right and stood back, wand at the ready in her pocket.

"Dormer?"

"That's me."

"Here about the goods?"

"Right-o. How many?"

"Four."

"Just like I asked. You really are the best."

"That's why I'm the boss."

"Ages 8 to 12, like I asked?"

"Yep. And they're new. All Muggle-borns. You'll be able to break them in yourself."

"Perfect," Tonks said, walking into the room. Her heart broke into pieces at the sight of the four frightened children, but she held it together. "Bloody hell, they're perfect."

"I do what I can for my clients. Payment?"

"I've got what you want, no worries. 50,000 galleons is a lot though…"

"You can check them out yourself. We don't hurt them."

Tonks knelt beside the boy and looked him over. "Easy," Tonks said softly, taking his hand. "You're good, I'll grant you that," she told The Wand. "Here you go. All there, all counted myself. Some of my lower peons think they can get away with taking a cut themselves, so I handled this one personally."

"A woman who looks after her money. I respect that," The Wand said, grinning.

"Any protocol for getting these things out of here?" she asked, nodding toward the children.

"Not at all. We picked a Wizard's spot so no one'll be on the lookout for 'em. You'll have to keep the brats on the low for a few weeks though. Like I said, we just got 'em."

"Gotcha. All right, you lot," she said to the kids. "Single file, go ahead of me. Pleasure doing business with you," she told The Wand, handing him a card. "If you get another shipment in, send an owl to that address."

"Will do."

Tonks put a hand on the smallest girl's shoulder and led the kids out of the room, exhaling hard. Max and B joined them at the bottom of the stairs, and they walked back to the street. A car appeared in front of them, and she knelt next to the kids. "Don't be afraid. Get in the car, you're safe now." She shut the door and tapped on the roof of the car. It disappeared as quickly as it had come and she turned to "Max" and "B". "Would you like to do the honors, Harry?"

"Of course," Harry said, grinning. He shot a spell into the air and a moment later, Magical Law Enforcement members were lined up in the street and surrounding the building.

Tonks smirked as she saw colorful flashes in the building from where the MLE people were dueling The Wand's men. "Harry!" she shouted, something on the roof catching her eye. "The roof!" She Apparated onto the roof and shot a stunning spell at The Wand. The two of them dueled until Harry got there.

"Throw your wand down!" Harry shouted, sending a stunner at the criminal.

The Wand shot another spell at Tonks, catching her off guard. The force of it picked her up off the ground and sent her flying over the edge of the roof. As she caught the fire escape's edge, she heard Harry yell "Stupify!" and The Wand scream.

"Tonks!" Harry yelled, peering over the edge. "Hang on!"

Tonks's vision swam. She could feel the spell, whatever it was, working. She let go just as Harry grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.

"Gotcha. You're okay, you're going to be okay. Kingsley!"

A sharp pain raced through Tonks's body, and everything faded to black.

_**LbN: Intrigued? :) Send reviews please! **_


	2. Chapter 2

**Get Out Alive  
**

"Ridder! Zackary! Get down here!" Ginny called. "You're going to be late for school!" When the boys came running down the stairs, she handed them their lunches and kissed them on the forehead. "Be good," she said, waving at Angelina. She was really glad she'd split morning drop off duties with her sister-in-law. She got a lot more done that way. Walking back into the kitchen, she grabbed the post from the window seal and picked out the purple card with the MLE seal. When she opened it, she recognized Harry's writing, not Tonks's.

_**Ginny, Tonks was injured last night on the mission. We've taken her to St. Mungo's. Come over when you get this, I'll meet you at the entrance.**_

_**~Harry**_

Pausing only to lock the front door, Ginny ran to the front yard and Disapparated. She landed in an alley about a block away from the hospital and sprinted all the way there. When she reached it,, Harry was waiting for her in front of the visitor's entrance. "Where is she?" Ginny panted. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you when we get to her room," Harry said. "Come on."

They entered Tonks's room and Ginny let out the breath she'd been holding. She'd expected to see something much worse, but Tonks looked alright, apart from the fact that she was still unconscious. "What happened?" she asked again. She didn't take her eyes off of Tonks as Harry explained. "But she never chases criminals," Ginny said. "Why did she run after this guy? She usually lets you handle that," she said, looking at Kingsley.

"She really wanted to take this guy down," Kingsley said. "He's the head of a child-trafficking ring. They kidnap Muggle-born children when the kids start displaying signs of magic. They sell them to purebloods, who use them as slaves, or so we think."

"So what's wrong with her?"

"He used some kind of Dark Magic," Harry said. "We haven't been able to wake her up yet."

Ginny sank into a chair at his words.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm sure they'll find something soon."

"You're sure it was Dark Magic?" Ginny asked.

"Yes. I saw it."

At that moment, one of the Healers walked in. "I'm sorry everyone, but we need you to leave. We have to run some more tests. Oh, hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Healer Fitzroy."

"Ginny Tonks," Ginny said, shaking his hand.

"Oh, are you sisters?"

"No, I'm her wife."

The Healer gave her an odd look for a moment. "I see. Well, Mrs. Tonks, you should know that we have not ascertained the problem yet, but we are still looking."

"Thank you. Do you have any idea if she'll wake up on her own?"

"Not yet."

Ginny looked expectant, but the Healer didn't seem to want to divulge any more information.

"We'll come back later," Kingsley said. "Are you staying here?"

"Yes," Ginny nodded. She took Tonks's hand while Fitzroy ran the tests.

"I'll tell Angelina what happened. I'm sure she'll watch the kids after school."

"Thanks."

* * *

By the end of the day, nothing had turned up and Ginny was sinking into panic. The Healer had come back for multiple tests, but hadn't been very forthcoming with information. Finally, around seven that night, a different Healer came in. "Charles Brandon," he said, without looking at her. "Healer Fitzroy has passed this case to me. I'm better at Dark Magic than he is, so he says." He looked down at Tonks's chart. "Well, we've narrowed it down. It looks like the spell he used was an old, but effective, binding spell. Basically it's one of the three that makes a person go catatonic. Tonks is locked in her own head, in other words."

"So how do you reverse it?" Ginny asked, clearly relieved.

"We have to figure out which of the three spells it is, and then go from there. It could take some time. Why don't you go home, and come back tomorrow? We're going to let her rest, so there won't be any more testing or anything tonight."

Ginny nodded. She leaned over and kissed Tonks. "I'll be back in the morning," she whispered. "Thank you," she told the Healer.

He nodded, never once meeting her gaze.

With one last look at her wife, Ginny left the small room. She Apparated outside of Fred and Angelina's house a minute later, and knocked on the door.

"Ginny," Angelina said, hugging her. "They told us what happened. Is she okay?"

"I think she's going to be," Ginny said. "They said he put her in some kind of catatonic state, or something like that. The Healers were acting weird though; I couldn't get much out of them. Where are the boys?"

"In the living room, working on their homework," Angelina said. "You should all stay here tonight. We have enough room, and you shouldn't be alone."

"Thanks, Angie."

When they got to the living room, the twins and their cousin were all reading out of their school books. Zack noticed Ginny first. "Mummy!" he said, running to hug her. "What's happened? Why didn't you come to get us from school today?"

"Er…Dresden? Why don't you come help me put away the dishes?" Angelina said, taking him by the hand.

"What's up Mummy?" Ridder asked, sitting next to her on the couch.

Ginny took a deep breath, willing herself not to break down. "Mama had an accident while she was working," she said softly. "She's in St. Mungo's now and the Healer's are helping her get better, but I don't know when she'll be home."

"An accident?" Ridder said. "What kind of accident? What's wrong with her?"

"Can we go see her?" Zack added.

"Not just yet," Ginny said. "A bad guy put a spell on her that's making her sleep. But as soon as she wakes up, I'll take you to visit her." She hugged both of them. "How about we go help Dresden and Aunt Angie?" Taking them by the hand, Ginny walked into the kitchen, praying Tonks would come through soon.

_**LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Get Out Alive  
**

_**Three Days Later**_

"How can they possibly still be clueless as to how to help her?" Hermione asked.

Ginny shook her head. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, so Hermione had met her for lunch. They were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, talking over Butterbeers. "I don't know. The boys are really getting scared. I've been trying to keep them busy, so they don't think about it."

"How are you? You look like you haven't slept in days."

"I haven't. Not well, at least."

Hermione was quiet for a second. "You still getting a bad feeling about the Healers?"

"Yeah. They never meet my eyes when I go in to talk to them. Harry's been doing surprise visits, so we know they're not hurting Tonks at all. The problem is, I don't think they're helping her either."

"Why would they do that?"

"Not a clue."

Hermione took a sip of Butterbeer. Twirling her wand, she said, "I think I have an idea. There was a student I had who went on to work at St. Mungo's. She's a Healer in Training, but she's really advanced—Kennedy Look. I'll see if I can get in touch with her. She might be able to help."

*

That night, as Ginny lay in bed reading, an owl landed on the window ledge and tapped to be let in. It deposited the note and took off again out of the open window. Ginny picked up the note anxiously and read:

_Hi Ginny. I spoke with Kennedy, and she says she'll help. It'll have to be kept quiet though, until we can get proof of foul play. She's going to sneak a look at Tonks's chart tonight, and she'll meet you for lunch in a Muggle café called Starbucks tomorrow at 12. It's right outside of the St. James's Park tube station. Good luck! ~Hermione_

Ginny tucked the note under her pillow and climbed back into bed. She turned off the lamp and snuggled down into the covers, praying the next day would bring answers.

* * *

The Starbucks was crowded when Ginny entered. A young woman sitting in the corned beckoned to her, and she squeezed through the customers to sit down at the table. "Kennedy?"

"That's me!" the witch said, smiling. "You must be Ginny?"

"I am. Thank you so much for helping me."

"Not at all. Professor Granger was one of my favorite teachers. Any friend of hers is okay by me." She reached out to shake Ginny's hand, pressing a small bottle into it as she did so. "All there. I have a good memory," she said, winking. "As to why your wife's not getting help," she added in a low tone. "That's the bit I can explain here. You'll see, when you look, that Mrs. Tonks has some notes attached to her file. One of those says she's 'Unresponsive Undesirable.' Fitzroy wrote that."

"I've heard that term before," Ginny said, trying to remember.

"I'm sure you have. The unresponsive part is purely medical—means Tonks isn't coming to. Undesirable is a term from the war."

"Anyone the Death Eater Ministry didn't like," Ginny said. "I was one."

"Yes. From what I know, Fitzroy didn't always work at the hospital. He started out as an intern at the Ministry—under Umbridge." Kennedy took a sip of her coffee, nodding at Ginny's look of outrage. "Exactly. He quit and started training as a Healer once she was sacked. Looks like he's picked up some of her bad habits."

"How do you know all of this?" Ginny asked, astonished.

"My parents are historians," Kennedy said with a smile. "They wrote a book about the war, specifically the Ministry during that time. I traced Fitzroy back once I knew he was ignoring Mrs. Tonks."

"So…is that it then?" Ginny asked, glancing down at the small bottle.

"The diagnosis is there," Kennedy said. "But I don't know how to help her—I couldn't finish researching it last night. I'm heading to my room after this to look it up—I checked the book out, but even if I find out I probably won't be able to do it by myself."

"Are the other Healers…?"

"They probably don't know. We're assigned to sections of the hospital, so the only other Healer on Tonks's floor is Brandon, and he's completely whipped by Fitzroy. Once we figure out what to do, we'll just have to go to someone else. The Healer I'm under is a good woman. She'll help; we just have to keep it quiet. Fitzroy is one of the most senior Healers. He holds a lot of power around the place."

Ginny nodded. "So what's next?"

"I'll try to find an answer. If I find it tonight, I'll owl Professor Granger with where we can meet next. Is Mrs. Tonks close to anyone in Mag—er…MLE?"

"Loads of people."

"You might want to bring a couple, when we find a cure. It's Dark Magic, and the remedy is going to be tricky. We don't want anyone interrupting, if you get what I mean."

Ginny shivered. She got it all right. It wouldn't do to have Fitzroy chase the other Healer off in the middle of performing the counter curse. At best, Tonks would stay in the coma. At worst, it could hurt the metamorphmagus worse. "I understand. Thanks you again."

"Don't mention it," Kennedy said, smiling. "I'll be in touch."

* * *

Ginny pulled the Pensive out of the cupboard and poured the memory in. When she entered, she landed next to Kennedy.

_The younger witch was in her hospital gear now, walking down the hallway. She stopped next to Brandon. "Hey there Charles!" she said, brightly._

"_Kennedy, how are you?"_

"_Just fine. Dreading this upcoming exam."_

"_I'm sure you'll do fine."_

"_Thanks. Are those your files for the day? Want me file them for you?"_

"_Oh, you don't have to go through the trouble…"_

"_No trouble at all. I already have to file a few for Miranda and Thomas." She took them from him. _

"_Thanks a lot!" he said. "That's a load off of my back, make no mistake."_

"_Not a problem. I'll see you tomorrow!" She wandered off down the hall and up the stairs to the filing room. Moving Tonks's chart to the bottom, she filed all of the rest of them. She'd purposely grabbed the files off of two other Healers so that she could be in there for a while without anyone suspecting anything. Taking her time, she hadn't gotten to Tonks's file yet when the rest of the people left. _

"_Lock up when you're finished, Look," Healer Smithwick said._

"_Sure thing!" After he'd gone, she ran through the rest of the filing and took Tonk's chart into a back corner. After making sure she was definitely alone, she read:_

"_**Unresponsive Undesirable"**_

_**Nymphadora A. Tonks, age 35- victim of the Mind Perfection Curse. Will not wake unless treated. Attend to when finished with all other responsibilities. **_

_The scene changed. Kennedy was walking through the stacks of books in the hospital's library. She turned down one of the rows and pulled a couple of books off the shelves. She repeated the same thing on another row, before grabbing one last book. _

"_In for a night of studying?" one of the other Healers in Training asked._

"_You know it," Kennedy lied. "Have a good night."_

"_You too. Don't work too hard, okay?"_

"_Right you are," Kennedy said, smiling. Taking the stack of books to a back table, she stacked them around her and opened the one she'd actually come for. Flipping through the pages, she finally found the curse she was looking for. _

_**The Mind Perfection curse is in no way as pleasant as it sounds. Victims of the curse are trapped in a catatonic state, living out their idea of the perfect life. Though this seems harmless, the curse is much more sinister. The victim, trapped in this unresponsive state, ages up to eight times faster than normal, making a single week take months off of their life. If, at any time, the victim becomes responsive to reality, the characters in the dream state will work to keep the victim trapped. This sometimes means that they work to make the dream even more appealing, or another character may resort to the far easier method of taking the victim hostage in their own mind. The victim is kidnapped by their own imagination, if you will, making efforts to bring them out that much easier. The only known cure for this—**_

_Kennedy jumped as someone came around the stacks. "Oh, hi Orion."_

"_Hey there Keny!" he said. "Tio told me you'd be here. Enough of this for one night."_

"_I really should—"_

"_No. You need a break, or you'll get burnt out. You already worked late today as it is. What are you reading?"_

"_Oh, nothing," she said, surreptitiously dog-earring the page and closing the book. "More hippogriff shit for the exam."_

"_I hear ya. Curses are going to kick my ass too," he said, tapping the book. "Still, you need some rest. Come on, I'll walk you back."_

"_Alright," she said, sticking the book in her bag._

Ginny sat back gasping, and trying to fight the urge to break something. Tonks was, in essence, dying, and Fitzroy didn't give a shit. Taking a few deep breaths, she went to her desk to write a letter to Harry…


	4. Chapter 4

**Get Out Alive  
**

Breakfast was quiet the next morning. Ginny could tell that the boys knew something was wrong. They were eating silently, not even looking at each other, which was odd for them. She gripped the letter in her pocket tightly and cleared her throat. "Boys? I'm going to be at St. Mungo's today with Mama. The Healers think they've found a way to make her better, so I'm going to go…sit with her, while they figure things out. I don't know how long it's going to take, so I don't want you to worry if Auntie Angie picks you up from school again. Alright?"

"Yes Mummy."

"Okay Mummy."

"Good," Ginny said, smiling. "If you're finished, go grab your bags for school."

* * *

Ginny walked quickly down the hall towards Tonks's room. She was relieved when she walked in and Harry and Kingsley were already there with the Healer. "Morning."

"Hey Ginny," Harry said. "This is Healer Wimpet. She's going to be doing the procedure today. We're just waiting on a few more MLE members to get here."

"What is the procedure exactly?" Ginny asked, not taking her eyes from Tonks. The older witch had lines forming on her face from where the spell was working.

"In a nutshell," Wimpet said. "Someone will have to go in and get her."

"Into her mind?"

"Yes. Whoever goes in will have to convince her that what she's experiencing isn't real. It'll be difficult, so I suggest someone close to her be the retriever."

"I'll do it," Ginny said at once.

Wimpet nodded. "Once you get through to her, you'll have to make some sort of physical contact to bring her back."

"That's it? I just have to convince her that she's dreaming and touch her?"

"More like hold her. Hold her hand, hug her, something. And remember, the dream is working to keep her there, but none of it is real. Don't forget that."

"Right."

The door behind them opened and two witches came in. Ginny recognized them as MLE members who worked in Tonks's department.

"I think we can get started then," Wimpet said. "I'm going to be your anchor, Ginny. Lie down there, and take Tonks's hand."

Ginny did so, and listened to Wimpet chanting in Latin. Her eyes began to drop, and she shivered violently. Vaguely, she could hear Harry talking to Kingsley, but that began to fade after a minute. She shut her eyes completely, now too drowsy to keep them open. When she could finally open them again, she was sitting up against a tree. She stood up quickly and looked around, feeling for her wand. She couldn't find it. "That figures," she mumbled, and began walking down a path. She recognized the woods she was in; it was the forest their cabin was in. As she came closer to the house, she saw Tonks outside, playing cricket with the boys. She closed her eyes hard for a second, and then reopened them to make sure she was seeing properly. Yep, she had it right. She watched as an image of herself came out of the house and tossed the loose ball back to Tonks. Determinedly, Ginny continued down the path until she came within view of Dream Ginny and her wife. "Tonks?"

"Whoa!" Zack yelped. "Mum, what's going on."

"Go in the house, boys," Dream Ginny said. "Tonks—"

"What in the hell?" Tonks said, looking between the two of them.

"Tonks, it's me," Ginny said. "The real me. She isn't real."

"What are you talking about?" Dream Ginny said. "Tonks, of course it's me."

"You got hit with a spell, Tonks," Ginny explained hurriedly. "When you were working a mission."

"I haven't been on a mission in years," Tonks said, still confused. "Not since Nyke was born."

At that moment, a little girl appeared in the doorway. Ginny took a deep breath and continued. "I know you think that, Tonks, but I swear this isn't real. We haven't had any more kids yet. The spell is just making you think that so you'll want to stay here."

"She's lying, Tonks," Dream Ginny interjected.

"Why would she lie?" Tonks asked slowly.

The scene around them faded slightly and Ginny smiled. She was getting through. "Exactly. I wouldn't. You know I wouldn't lie to you, Tonks."

"I wouldn't lie to you," Dream Ginny said. "Whoever this woman is, she's obviously crazy."

"You know this isn't real," Ginny said. "Try me. Ask us something, anything. Something that would prove which one of us is real."

"You didn't even know about our daughter," Dream Ginny said. "How do you expect to win that one?"

She had a point. Ginny thought for a moment. "How are the kids?"

"They're great," Tonks said, still eyeing both Ginnys warily.

"They're perfect angels," Dream Ginny said smugly.

"Really?" Ginny feigned shock. "Because the Zack and Ridder I know are always causing trouble. Tonks, no practical jokes? Clean room?"

"Now that you mention it…" Tonks said, and the scene around them faded again.

Ginny knew Tonks was coming to. Ridder and Zack were wonderful, but they'd inherited the Weasley trouble making gene. No one in their right mind would call them angels. She took a step closer to Tonks, but found herself trapped. Blue bars were surrounding her, forming a cage. She looked back at Dream Ginny. The dream had her wand pointed at her.

"I don't know who this is, or when the Polyjuice Potion is going to wear off," Dream Ginny said. "But I'm sure Magical Law Enforcement will take her off of our hands."

"This isn't real," Ginny reminded herself. "Tonks, come here. We don't have much time."

Tonks stood frozen, looking between the two Ginnys. The scene was coming back now.

"No! Listen Tonks, this isn't real."

"If it isn't real, then why are you trapped?" Dream Ginny sneered.

The scene dimmed drastically.

"I'm not," Ginny said, realizing that the dream had done itself in. "I'm not." She closed her eyes and walked a few steps forward. She was out of the cage. "Tonks! Watch out!" She ran and pushed Tonks out of the way of the Dream's spell. She expected to feel the impact as they hit the ground, but she didn't. The scene had faded completely, and they were standing in the dark.

"Ginny?" Tonks's voice sounded drowsy.

"I'm here."

"What's happening?"

At that moment, the same sleepy feeling came over Ginny. "I…I don't know…" she closed her eyes, and woke up a second later with a gasp. She looked to her right to see Tonks waking up as well. The lines on her face from the spell were disappearing. "Thank God…." She tried to sit up, but Healer Wimpet held her back.

"Easy," she said. "You both need to rest."

"It worked…"

"Yes, it worked. And your friend Mr. Potter took Fitzroy into custody for criminal negligence. How are you feeling, Tonks?"

Tonks muttered something that Ginny couldn't hear, but apparently Wimpet was satisfied with her answer. She smiled at both witches. "I'll be back later to check on you both."

"Thank you," Ginny said.

"My pleasure."

* * *

"Mummy! Mama!" Ridder yelled, running out to greet them.

Ginny caught him before he could tackle Tonks. The metamorphmagus was still pretty tired from the spell. "Easy, Mama's still a little sick."

"I'm fine," Tonks said, smiling brightly. She hugged Ridder tightly. "Where's your brother?"

"Here I am!" Zack called from the window. A second later, he was outside with the rest of the family. "Are you better, Mama?"

"I am. I'm glad I'm home with you guys!"

"Are you going to have to go away again soon?" Ridder asked quietly.

"No," Tonks smiled as they walked into the house. "Mr. Kingsley gave me a new job. No more going away."

Ginny smiled brightly and took Tonks's hand. "You have no idea how good that is to hear."

Tonks chuckled. "I think I can guess."

_**Fin**_

_If you want to get out alive_

_Hold on for your life._

_If I stay it won't be long_

'_Til I'm burning on the inside._

_If I go I can only hope_

_That I'll make it to the other side._

_If I stay it won't be long_

'_Til I'm burning on the inside._

_If I go…_

_If I go…_


End file.
